Native American sand painting
Native American sand painting, also known as dry painting, is a traditional art form primarily utilized by American Indian tribes of the Southwestern U.S. and Plains cultures for ceremonial and religious purposes. This impermanent medium often features intricate designs, with the Navajo incorporating it into their rich mythology and spiritual practices. Navajo sand paintings are particularly notable for their elaborate patterns that often reflect cosmological myths, and they play a vital role in rituals such as the Mountain Chant ceremony. The paintings are typically created in a circular, semicircular, or rectangular format, adorned with motifs of plants, animals, and supernatural beings, predominantly in soft tones against a tan background.
The process of creating sand paintings is itself a ceremonial act, performed by singers or chanters with the assistance of apprentices, made from memory and in a specific order to ensure their spiritual efficacy. These paintings are considered sacred, and after their ritual use, they are destroyed to prevent misuse of their spiritual power. Historically, the Navajo did not permit outsiders to observe or participate in sand painting due to its sacred nature. However, since around 1900, there has been a shift towards allowing the reproduction of these works to preserve this cultural practice, sparking a market for both Indian and non-Indian artists. Today, authenticity in Navajo sand paintings is upheld through guidelines established by the Indian Arts and Crafts Board.
Subject Terms
Native American sand painting
Tribes affected: Apache, Arapaho, Blackfoot, Cheyenne, Gabrielino, Luiseño, Navajo, Pueblo, Tohono O’odham
Significance: Sand paintings are pictures made of finely ground sand derived from stone or other colored material; such paintings are at the center of the Navajo ceremonial system
Traditionally an impermanent art form between painting and mosaic, sand painting (or dry painting, as it is also known) has been used by American Indians of the Southwest cultural area and Plains culture for ceremonial and religious purposes. Little is known about sand painting done by tribes other than the Navajo, either because they did not do sand painting to a great extent, the paintings vanished from use, or they were never recorded. Navajo sand painting was borrowed from the Pueblo Indians and altered to conform to the Navajo worldview. There are possibly as many as six hundred different sand paintings referring to different aspects or events in Navajo mythology, with every chant or ceremony having its own paintings.
The paintings, representing the Navajo cosmological myths and events, are circular, semicircular, or rectangular in shape and are made in three major patterns composed with either a linear or radial emphasis or a dominant center motif. The design is surrounded on three sides by a guardian spirit, with the opening to the east. Designs are symmetrical overall but contain asymmetrical details. Motifs include plants, animals, astral bodies, and supernatural entities called “Yei.” Abstracted figures are shown frontally or in profile with full face. Traditional sand paintings are softly colored in tones of brown, red, blue, black, and gold on a tan background.
In sand painting, the act of creating the painting is an essential element in the ritual use of the painting. The paintings are made by singers, also called chanters, with the help of many apprentice assistants, and are made from memory in a prescribed order. Left unfinished or incomplete, the paintings remain secular in nature. The paintings must be made completely and accurately in order to attract supernatural beings called “Holy People” to the paintings, making them sacred and efficacious to the ritual purpose. The final step occurs when the singer sprinkles the complete painting with sacred corn pollen. Immediately after ritual use, the paintings are destroyed to guard against misuse of the sacred power.
Because of the highly sacred nature of sand painting, the Navajo long did not allow them to be observed or made by laymen or unbelievers. When the Navajo began to allow them to be reproduced in permanent form around 1900, it was only because there was a growing concern for preserving this aspect of Navajo life. By leaving them incomplete or inaccurate, they believed the sacred content would be protected because the Holy People would be prevented from infusing them with their power.
Today, sand paintings are made and marketed by both Indians and non-Indians. The Indian Arts and Crafts Board has established criteria for authentic Navajo sand paintings in an attempt to designate as authentic only those sand paintings made by American Indians.